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Denver voters drive off vehicle-impoundment initiative

By Christopher N. Osher The Denver Post

Posted:
11/04/2009 01:00:00 AM MST

Updated:
11/04/2009 05:12:47 PM MST

Denver City Councilmen Paul Lopez, right, and Rick Garcia celebrate the defeat of Initiative 300 on Tuesday night at Museo de las
Americas. The City Council had approved a proclamation urging voters to defeat the initiative. (Evan Semon, Special to The Denver Post)

Initiative 300 had prompted opposition from an array of civic and political leaders. They told voters the initiative would unnecessarily tie up police resources and become a costly bureaucratic burden. Opponents also said it was a thinly veiled attack against illegal immigrants.

The measure was rejected by nearly seven of every 10 voters.

Supporters had said a lenient attitude toward unlicensed drivers puts law-abiding citizens at risk and argued that impound fees would help pay for enforcement.

Mayor John Hickenlooper used some of his campaign funds to finance robo-calls in which he urged voters to defeat the initiative. The City Council, at the urging of Councilman Doug Linkhart, approved a proclamation urging voters to defeat it.

In the calls, the mayor labeled the initiative "deceptive" and said it would require the city to spend $1.6 million annually on extra police resources and increased towing costs.

A similar initiative passed last year, but the city attorney's office advised officials the ballot measure was clumsily worded and did not achieve what its supporters intended.

"This time around, we were a lot more organized," said Councilman Paul Lopez, who also had urged defeat.

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Lopez and others celebrated their victory at the Museo de las Americas, an art museum on Santa Fe Drive.

Jessie Ulibarri, an organizer in the campaign to defeat the initiative, said voters had sent a strong message.

"All eyes through the state and nation were on Denver today, waiting for the outcome of this issue," he said in a prepared statement. "Voters have clearly declared this a terrible idea."

Dan Hayes, who pushed the 2008 initiative, said this year's effort would have cleaned up the language and would have required impound enforcement to begin.

"They used propaganda to win," Hayes said, referring to fliers that said drivers would have their car towed if they lost or forgot their wallet and would have to post a $2,500 bond to get their car back.

While a person might have his or her car towed, a bondsman would post the bond for a $400 fee, Hayes said. He said he next would push to get the initiative before voters in Lakewood.

"Overall, Lakewood is much more educated, and they aren't going to take some idiot's word for it," he said.

City law already prohibits unlicensed driving, but that law gives police discretion on when to impound. This year's initiative would have allowed discretion only when police found "convincing corroborating identification," proof of insurance and could show a license "of record."

When an officer found such identification, a summons would be issued. The driver would have 10 working days to present a valid license, or the car would be impounded.

To have cars released from impound, drivers would have to pay $200 and post a $2,500 bond. The bond would be forfeited if the car was driven by an unlicensed driver within a year.

Hayes spent nearly $11,000 of his own money to get the initiative before Denver voters. He had said getting unlicensed drivers off Denver's roads would make the city safer and would strike a blow against Latino gangs, such as MS-13.

"They're not going to ride a bus to do a drive-by," he said. "This is just out of control."

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